Pressure gauge



March 24, 1936. P. T. sPRAGuE Er A1. Re. 19,902

PRESSURE GAUGE Original Filed Oct. 8, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 48 6 im l, jdi?? IIJ; 1.,.:1 I

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Reiuued Mar. 24, 1936 19.902 PRESSURE GAUGE Philip Tripp Sprague andArnold Soller, Michigan City, Ind., assignors .to The Hays Corporation,

Michigan City, Ind.

Original No. 1,841,651, dated 140,315, October tion for reissue January15, 1

Serial No.

16 Claims.

' Our invention relates to improvementsin gauges that are designed to beused for indicating or recording pressures, and it consists in thecombinations, constructions, and arrangements herein described andclaimed,

An object of our invention is to provide a gauge primarily i'orindicating relatively slight pressures, such as drafts in chimneys,furnaces, and the like, and in which the movement of a diaphragm isgreatly multiplied so that a slight change in the pressure may bereadily observed on the scale at a considerable distance from thelatter.

A further object is to provide a gauge of the type mentioned, which ishoused in a casing that is relatively narrow, so thatV a number of thesegauges may be placed side by side on an instrument board or othersuitable support where they will take up very little room.

A further object is to provide a gauge in which' the actuating mechanismis disposed in compact arrangement in one end of the housing, therebypermitting a wide range of movement for the pointer through the space inthe remainder of the housing.

A further object is to provide a device having an elongated diaphragm,by means of which a slight pressure is augmented, but which, beingelongated. may be readily contained within the narrow housing.

A further object is to provide a device of the type described in which aspring member actuated by the movement of the diaphragm is bent backover the diaphragm casing, thereby rendering the device compact,l whileat the same time providing a long lever arm.

A further object is to provide simple means operated from the outside ofthe casing for adjusting the device to bring the pointer to its zeroposition.

A further object is to provide novel and simple means for Calibrating,amplifying and transmitting movement of a diaphragm to a pointer.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

Our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming partof this application, in which Figure l is an enlarged section throughthe device along line I-I of Figure 3,

Figure 2 is a face view of one of the scales used in the device,

Figure 3 is a face view showing the general ar- January 19, 1932, 8,1926. .Applica- 934, Serial No.

rangement of a by side,

Figure 4 is a detail device, Figure 5 is a face view Figure 6 is adetail side vi their immediate actuati Figure 5,

plurality of gauges mounted side plan view of a portion of the of amodified form,

ew of the pointers and ng mechanism shown in Figure 8 is a section ure1,

along the line 8-8 of Fig- Figure 9 is a detail sectional view along theline I I' of Figure 3 showin the diaphragm casing,

Figure 10 is a view spring arm used in c tus set forth in Figure 5.

In carrying out our inventi ing such as that shown in Fi g a means formounting of a modified form of the onnection with the apparal on weprovide a housgure l. It comprises a at strip of metal bent to form atop portion I,

a back portion 2,

and a bottom portion 3.

The

front consists preferably of cast aluminum side Y pieces 4, which areing flanges 4a, see 8. The sides are cross piece 6. 'I'he low is bentupwardly and piece `I.

A scale such as that shown at I0 and 3 is bent in arc shape and is secprovided with laterally extend- Figure 7, and ribs 5, see Figureconnected together by upper and lower cross members 6 and l,respectively, arc shaped pane of glass e flange 4a and the rib 5 thegrooves of the upper 6 and `I, and is suitably packed to preventdisplacement. tion I of the casing or housing is The Upper P01'- securedto the of the casing to the cross er portion is secured in Figures 1ured to upper and lower brackets II and I2, respectively, which are inturn secured to the upper an bers of the casing.

substantially L-shape. I3a and screws Il passin into the bosses forholding the and there d lower mem-l In the interior is disposed a lightcasting I3 of This casting has bosses g through the casing and castingor frame also has a central boss h is provided with an I 3 hic ngconsists of a lower por- I9 provided with a threaded asses through theopenleo casing are held 2 tion I8 securely down on the Vboss i3, therebyholding it firmly in podtion.. h

clamped -between thecasing portion I8 and a cover portion 23 is adiaphragm2l.- As will be observed from Figure 4, the diaphragm casing iselongated and is provided with bosses 25 having screws 28, bymeans ofwhich the two parts of the together. This diaphragm is made preferablyof curely held between the edges of the casing portions I and 23. Thediaphragm itself is not taut, but is preferably loosely crinkled orcorrugated before being secured in position." This is done generally bywadding skin and rolling 1t between the hands preparatory to securing itin position. On each side of the diaphragm are metal by a nut 28 on abolt 23, which projects through an opening '30 in the member. 23 of thecasing.

Secured to one end of the |.-shaped frame I3 by means of a bolt 3l is arelatively thick U- shaped spring member 32. The frame I3 is slotted at32a to allow for theshifting of a spring 33 for the purpose of keepingthe spring at right.

angles to the bead chain. The spring member 33 is relatively thin and iscarried by the U- shaped spring member 32, being fastened to it at 34.This spring member 33 extends substantial- 1y parallel with thediaphragm casingV and has along a portion of one side adjacent its outerend a brace member 33 consisting of an integral strengthening rib formedin a blanking and forming operation. Between the brace member and thefastening means 3l, the spring 33 is-connected tothe bolt 23. The outerend of the spring member 33 is slotted to receive the end of a beadchain 36. The latter passes around a wheel or pulley 31 which is mountedon an axle 38 journaled in bearings 39 carried by the forked ends Ml ofthe frame I3. Secured to the wheel 31 is the end '4I of a pointer arm42. The latter extends forwardly to one side of the scale I0 and isprovided with a laterally extending pointer 43. Since the scale Ill iscurved on an arc concentric with the axis of the arm, the pointer 43will swing along the scale at uniform distance therefrom. A plate la: isprovided, as shown in Figure 8, for preventing the light from shiningthrough between the edge of the scale and the casing.

The spring arm 33 .may be adjusted with respect to its support and withrespect to the connection to the bolt 29, and to this end slots Mv andI5 are provided as shown in Figure 10. An adjusting screw I6 extendsthrough the casing wall 3 and bears on the spring portion 32.

From the foregoing description of the-various parts of the device, theoperation thereof may be readily understood. The meter is designed to beattached to any suitable supporting surface and to this end lugs l1 areprovided which may be secured by bolts I8 to a panel 43 or otherconvenient supporting surface. To the end of the threaded member 2li, aflexible pipe 50 may be attached, and the end of this pipe may lead to achimney. a furnace, or other'device whose pressure or draft it isdesired to indicate. The pressure from a fan, for instance, will cause aforce which will act upon the diaphragm 24, moving it upwardly in Figurel, and causing the spring 33 to rise. The wheel 31 has an adjustablecounterweight 5|, consisting of a pair of nuts. which may be lockedtogether in adjusted positions so that when slack comes on the chain itwill cause the arm to rise, thus shifting the pointer along thegoldbeaters skin and is seweight,

,the gauges are sent vout they plates 21, which' areheld 'large openingat O Scale,

for calibrating, amplifying and .-transmitting chain 38. Should it bedesired to measure a decrease in normal pressures, such as a partialvacuum, the air-pressure will move the diaphragm in the oppositedirection, pulling down on the spring and causing the swinging of thearmv downwardly against the force exerted by the counterso that thepointer willregister on the lower part of the scale the extent of thedecrease in pressure from' the, normal. Of course before are calibratedand the pointer should stand at zero on the scale when the pressure isnormal. 1f the pointer is not exactly at zero,.it may be brought to thezero position by means oi the screw I6 which may be turned to exert orrelieve pressure. on the spring 32. This may be done from the exteriorof the housing without the necessity of opening it.

The construction described permits the use of plain flat plates for thesides of the housing or casing.

VIn Figure 5 we have shown a modified form of the device in which onehousingserves for two pointers. In this figure the housing, which wehave indicated in general at H, has a relatively I in the figure throughwhich the pointers P and P can beseen, and has two sets of diaphragms inthe respective casings D and D. The spring arms S and S are connected,respectively, by means of chains with the wheels W and W' shown inFigure 6, which are connected with the pointers P and P'. The operationof this form of the device is the same as that already described. Inthis instance, however, the inlets to the diaphragm casing which areshown at K and K', respectively, may be connected to two differentsources of `pressure so as to give two readings in the singleinstrument. In this instance, as in the form shown in Figure 1, thediaphragm casings and their springs are disposed in compact arrangementat the ends of the housing so as to leave the greater part of the spacewithin the housing for the free swing of the pointers. Both of thesedevices have adjusting screws A and A', by means of which the pointersmay be brought to the zero position.

It will be noted that in both forms of the device elongated diaphragmsare used and, as stated, this permits an instrument which may be madevery narrow. We have found that an elongated diaphragm works as well, asfar as vtransmission of pressure is concerned, as a circular diaphragmof the same area. By making the diaphragm elongated instead of circular,we gain the advantage of utilizing the available space in the compactcase for useful purposes.

While we have illustrated a scale which is graduated in fractions of aninch (water), the instruments made on the same principle may be made forindicating greater pressures, such as blast pressure of 6 or 8 inches(water) or 30 inches water pressure for powdered coal air lines. Thescale may be calibrated to read in inches mercury, in millimeters wateror mercury. or in ounces and pounds per square inch, as well as in theunits mentioned. 'I'hese may be in pressure above atmospheric pressure,or suction (pressure below atmospheric), or the difference betweenpressures at two sources. Where the atmospheric pressure is taken as thestandard-of comparison, only one connection is necessary since theinstrument itself is surrounded by atmospheric pressure said spring thusserving as' simple means A which is naturally applied to the oppositeside of the diaphragm.

I'he compact arrangement, in which the elongated diaphragm casing has aspring bent over it in parallel relation with an arm actuated by thespring at its outer end, enables u's to multiply the movement of thediaphragm so that the pointer will move to a relatively great' distancefor a very slight pressure or vacuum, thus making a very sensitiveinstrument, but one which can t be easily read at some distance from thegauge.

secured to a wall of the housing and having an inlet, a substantiallyrectangular diaphragm carried in said elongated casing, the surface o1'the diaphragm being crinkled and the edges being securely held by thewalls of the diaphragm casing,

a U-shaped spring portion rigidly secured in said housing andsurrounding one end of the diaphragm casing, an adjusting screw mountedin the wallof the housing and arranged to engage the spring portion forilexing the latter, a relatively thin spring member secured to said U`shaped spring portion and extending substantially in parallelism withthe diaphragm casing, a connection between said diaphragm and saidspring member for moving the latter, a pointer arm pivotally mounted toswing in a plane substantially through the center of thehousing and thelongitudinal axis of the diaphragm, a wheel secured to the arm at itspivotal point and carrying a counterbalance for the arm, a bead chainfor connecting the spring member with said wheel for moving the pointerarm, and an arc-shaped scale at one end of the housing, said scale beingconcentric with said wheel, and cooperating with the free end of thearm.

2. A pressure gauge, comprising a housing, an elongated diaphragm casingsecured to a wall of the housing and having an inlet, an elongateddiaphragm carried in said casing, the edges oi the diaphragm being heldby the walls oi the casing and the body portion being crinkled, a springmember extending substantially in parallelism with the diaphragm casing,means for securing said spring member to said housing, aconnectionbetween said diaphragm and said spring member for moving the latter, aframe, a pointer arm pivotally mounted on said frame to swing throughthe greater portion of the housing, a wheel secured to the pointer armat its pivotal point and carrying a counterbalance for the arm, exiblemeans for connecting the spring member with said wheel for moving thepointer arm, and an arc-shaped scale at one end of said housing, saidscale being concentric with said wheel, and cooperating with the freeend of the arm.

3. In a pressure gauge, a housing, an elongated diaphragm casing securedwithin the housing, a substantially rectangular diaphragm carried insaid elongated casing, the surface of the diaphragm being crinkled andthe edges being securely held by the walls of the diaphragm casing, aspring member disposed in parallelism with the diaphragmcasing,-connections between' said dia- 'phragm and said' spring memberior moving the latter, and means operated from without the vhousing foradjusting the position of the spring member.

4. In a pressure gauge, a housing, an L-shaped frame secured to saidhousing, a pointer arm pivotally mounted on one end of said L-shapedframe, a U-shaped resilient member having one leg mounted at the otherend ot said Lshaped trame, a spring member mounted on 4the other leg otsaidU-shaped resilient member and extending toward the rst-named end oi'the frame,

a diaphragm casing mounted on said frame between the spring member andthe i'rame,'a diaphragm carried in said diaphragm casing, connectionsbetween said diaphragm and said spring member for moving the latter, andconnections between the spring member and the pointer arm for actuatingthe pointer arm.

5. In a pressure gauge, a housing, a frame disposed in said housing, anelongated diaphragm casing secured to said frame, a diaphragm disposed nsaid casing, a. spring member disposed in parallelism with saiddiaphragm casing and secured to said frame, a pointer having itslongitudinal axis disposed in the same plane with l the longitudinalaxis of the spring member and being pivoted at one end, connectionsbetween said diaphragm and said spring member for moving the latter, andconnections between the spring member and the pointer for moving thepointer.

6. In a pressure gauge, a housing, an elongatedv diaphragm casingsecured within the housing, a diaphragm in said casing, a spring memberdisposed in parallelism with the diaphragm casing on one side thereof, aU-shaped resilient member having a portion bent around the end of thediaphragm casing and arranged to extend in parallelism with the oppositeside of the diaphragm casing, means for securing one end of said U-shaped member to the housing, means for securing the other end of saidU-shaped member to one end of said spring member, connections Abetweenthe diaphragm and the spring member for actuating the latter, a pointerpivotally supported at one end and having its longitudinal axis disposedin the same plane with the longitudinal axis of said spring member, andmeans for connecting the free end of said spring member with theadjacent end of the pointer for moving the pointer.

7. In a pressure gauge, a housing, an elongated diaphragm casing securedwithin the housing, a diaphragm in said casing,a spring member disposedin parallelism with the diaphragm casing on one side thereof, a U-shapedresilient member having a portion bent around the end of the diaphragmcasing and arranged to extend in parallelism with the opposite side ofthe diaphragm casing, means for securing one end thereof to the housing,means for securing the other end of said U-shaped memberto one end ofsaid spring member, connections between the diaphragm and the springmember for actuating the latter, a pointer pivotally supported at oneend and having its longitudinal axis disposed in 8. In a pressure gauge,a housing, an elongated diaphragm casing 'secured within the housing, adiaphragm in said casing, a spring member `disposed in parallelism withthe-diaphragm casing on one side thereof, a U-shaped resilient memberhaving a portion bent around the end o! the diaphragm casing andarranged to extend in parallelism with the opposite side of thediaphragm casing, a frame for rigidly securing one end of the lU-shapedresilient member. to the housing, means ior securing the other end ofsaid U-shaped resilient member to said spring member, connectionsbetween the diaphragm and the spring member for actuating` the latter, apointer having its longitudinal axis disposed in the same plane with thelongitudinal axis of said spring member, an extension carried by saidframe for pivotally supporting said pointer, connections between thepointer and the spring member near the pivotal support of the pointerfor turning the pointer on its pivot, and a curved scale adjacent to thefree end of the pointer for indicating the movement of the pointer.

.9. In a pressure gauge, a housing, an elongated diaphragm casingsecured within the housy ing, a diaphragm in said casing, a springmember disposed in parallelismwith the diaphragm casing on one sidethereof, a U-shaped resilient member having a portion bent around theend of the diaphragm casing and arranged to extend in parallelism withthe opposite side of the diaphragm casing, a frame for rigidly securingone end of the U -shaped resilient member to the housing, means forsecuring the other end of said U-shaped resilient m'ember to said springmember, connections between the diaphragm and the spring member foractuating the latter, a pointer having its longitudinal axis disposed inthe same plane with the longitudinal axis of said spring member, anextension carried by said frame forf pivotally supporting said pointer,connections between the pointer and the spring member near the pivotalsupport oi' the pointer for turning the pointer on its pivot, a curvedscale adiacent. the free end of the pointer for indicating the movementof the painter, and a set screw carried by the housing and arranged tobear on the resilient member for flexing the latter.

10. A pressure gauge, comprising a housing, a frame disposed in thehousing and having extensions, an elongated diaphragm casing. asubstantially rectangular diaphragm carried in said elongated casing, aspring member disposed in parallelsm with the diaphragm casing, means.

whereby said spring member is carried by said frame, a connectionbetween said diaphragm and said spring member for moving the latter whensaid diaphragm is moved, a pointer arm pivotally mounted in a planesubstantially common to the central axis of the spring member, meansconnccting the end of the spring member with said pointer for movingthelatter about its pivot, and an arc-shaped scale at one end of saidhousing for indicating the movem'entof the pointer arm.

11. In a pressure gauge, a housing, an elongated diaphragm casingcarried within the housing, a diaphragm in said diaphragm casing, aspring member disposed substantially in parallel relation with saiddiaphragm, means connecting said diaphragm with said spring member forexing the latter in a direction transverse to the major axis oi theelongated diaphragm casing by movementI of the diaphragm, means forpermitting the shifting of the spring member parallel to the maior axisof the elongated diaphragm casing and for securing the spring member atone end in its shifted position, a pointer arm, and a nexible connectionbetween the free end of said spring member and the arm.

l2. In a pressure gauge, a housing, a pointer pivoted in said housing, adiaphragm casing mounted in said housing; a diaphragm in said casing, an.adjusting spring flxedly mounted at one of its ends in said housing, anelongated member including a calibrating spring ilxedly secured to saidadJusting spring, said elongated member being connectedwith saiddiaphragm and with said pointer whereby movement o! said diaphragmilexes said calibratlng spring to pivot said pointer, and means forflexing said adjusting spring to adjust the position of said pointer.i3. In a pressure gauge, a housing, a pointer pivoted in said housing, adiaphragm casing mounted in said housing, a diaphragm insaidl casing, aspring xedly mounted at one of its ends in said housing, an elongatedmember lixedly carried by said spring, and connected at spaced pointsthereof with said diaphragm and said pointer, movement of said diaphragmshifting said elongated member to actuate said pointer, and means forexing said spring to adjust the position of said pointer.

14.' In a pressure gauge, in combination, a shiftable pointer, adiaphragm casing mounting a diaphragm, an adjusting spring secured infixed relation to said casing at one of its ends, an elongated memberincluding a calibrating spring xedly secured to the free end of saidadjusting spring, said elongated member being connected at spaced pointsthereof with said diaphragm and pointer whereby movement of thediaphragm flexes the calibrating spring to pivot said pointer, and meansfor ilexing said adjusting spring to adjust the position ot saidpointer.

15. In a pressure gauge, a housing, a diaphragm casing carried withinthe housing, a

diaphragm in said diaphragm casing, a spring member disposedsubstantially in parallel relation with said diaphragm, means connectingsaid diaphragm with said spring member intermediate its ends for ilexingthe latter by movement of the diaphragm, and means within the housingfor mounting one end of said spring member, said spring mounting meansbeing adjustable longitudinally of said spring to vary the positionthereof relative to said connecting means and an indicator actuated bythe free end of the spring.

16. In a pressure gauge, a housing, an eicngated diaphragm casingcarried within the housing,a diaphragm in said diaphragm casing, aspring member disposed substantially in parallel relation to saiddiaphragm, means connecting said diaphragm with said spring memberintermediate its ends for flexing the latter in a direction transverseto the major axis of the elongated diaphragm casing by movement of thediaphragm, and means within the housing for mounting one end of saidspring member, said spring mounting means being shiftable parallel tothe major axis of the elongated diaphragm casing to vary the positionthereof relative to said connecting means and a pointer connected to thefree end of said spring.

n PHILIP TRIP? SPRAGUE.

ARNOLD SOLLER.

